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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24487666">My kingdom for calling me king</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eloarei/pseuds/Eloarei'>Eloarei</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Tropico (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, No Dialogue, POV Second Person, Short One Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:14:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24487666</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eloarei/pseuds/Eloarei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>War; what is it good for?<br/>For as much as your favorite advisor, you guess.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>El Presidente &amp; Penultimo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>My kingdom for calling me king</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>There's little to no point to this, but after playing Tropico 5 again and again, and then finding upon a quick search that there are basically no Tropico fics, I just had to write <i>something</i>. First thing I've written in months, actually. Feels nice, regardless of pointlessness.<br/>Maybe I'll do another sometime. You know I can't resist the call of <i>itsy bitsy teeny weeny</i> fandoms.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><span>You’ve been at this job for several weeks now, and you’re still not sure what Penultimo does. It strikes you odd that your subordinates, </span><em><span>the Governor’s</span></em><span> subordinates, have not made it abundantly clear to you what each and every person on the island is </span><em><span>there for</span></em><span> (especially after you fired half of the palace’s incompetent staffers on your second day), but perhaps it is </span><em><span>because</span></em><span> you fired half of the palace’s incompetent staffers, and now nobody wants to talk to you for fear of evoking your managerial ire. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>Oaksworth talks to you, of course. He’s about the only person on the island that you can’t fire, since he reports directly to the king. He comes around several times a day to let you know how all the diplomacy is going. If you’re lucky, he brings some scotch, as consolation for the rum distilleries not being up yet. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>Evita will speak with you too, probably in large part because she has a brave and foolhardy spirit, and because she genuinely believes herself to be useful. Luckily for her, she </span><em><span>is</span></em><span> useful. She tells you what the people are thinking-- mostly the revolutionaries; she’s been drafting a declaration of independence since before you first stepped foot on this rock, you’re sure. You can’t help but wonder who she would have elected as de facto ruler if you’d gotten shipwrecked like the previous governor candidate. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>There are a few other people who come and go from your general vicinity with a little more noise than mice, but everyone else is still holding their tongues in your presence, and quietly hoping that you’ll build a tavern or something so that they can be loud </span><em><span>elsewhere.</span></em> <span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>But then there is Penultimo, who, until the tavern is built, is probably going to be the island’s main source of entertainment. Honestly, you </span><em><span>think</span></em><span> you find it a bit tiring (you’re not entirely sure), but the man is a loudmouth and a buffoon. He seems to be </span><em><span>everywhere</span></em><span> for some reason, or at least everywhere that you are, and he’s always having some kind of loud conversation with someone. Except when he’s not, because sometimes he’s everywhere that you are and somehow being loud entirely on his own. Without speaking, oftentimes. You’re perplexed, because you don’t know how a man can be loud without saying a word. But that is Penultimo. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>He’s not afraid of you, which is maybe or maybe not refreshing. After all, neither Evita nor Oaksworth are afraid of you either (nor that girl who runs the tavern, when you finally get it open). But perhaps what is interesting is that he doesn’t even seem to be aware that anyone </span><em><span>could</span></em><span> be afraid of you, which Evita and Oaksworth certainly are. He almost acts like you’re already best friends, even though you don’t think you’ve even had an official introduction. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>You wonder if perhaps he was hired as your sidekick-- although court jester seems just as likely. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>Compared to the other two… </span><em><span>advisors,</span></em><span> you guess they’re called, he doesn’t seem to have a forte. He comes to you with absolutely inane requests on the regular, and you spend the first few months wondering why. Then one day you find, almost to your dismay, that when he suggests naming the local anteater after the king (as a kind of insult, to appease the revolutionaries, you see), you completely understand how he’s come to the conclusion that </span><em><span>this</span></em><span> is the correct course of action. It’s quite horrifying, but after that day you pay a little bit more attention to Penultimo’s nonsensical schemes. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>You suppose it’s not </span><em><span>that</span></em><span> insane, that he’s the most useful of your inner circle. After all, he </span><em><span>is</span></em><span> your head researcher. ...You think. If there’s someone else out there discovering all those strangely useful techniques in genuinely absurd ways (other than stealing from the French; that was something </span><em><span>you</span></em><span> would have thought of), then Penultimo is a much better liar than you give him credit for, and you just don’t think that’s it. He reminds you far too much of a puppy to be capable of such grand deceit. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>Perhaps </span><em><span>that</span></em><span> was why you never fired him, even when you were fairly certain he was just a waste of wage, back in those first few weeks. Because he’s </span><em><span>loyal.</span></em><span> Not just to Tropico, but to you. From your very first meeting, he seemed to have your back (whether you liked it or not). And his dedication to you remained unwavering, through paperwork, invasions, and social unrest. It was like he somehow </span><em><span>knew</span></em><span> you were right for this job, as strongly as you knew it yourself, and it was heartening to have someone be so very trusting that you could do things right, even when your approval rating was only 12 percent. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>Ultimately, that was almost certainly why you didn’t have him beheaded when he brought you the news that citizens were begging to be abducted by local pirates at the end of your first week: because he prefaced it with “Presidente”. Nobody had ever called you that before, except in your daydreams, and after hearing the beautiful word slip from his mouth, the ensuing bad news felt like little more than a mosquito bite. Giant Tropican mosquitoes, but still. </span><span><br/>
</span><span><br/>
</span><span>That Penultimo never failed to presume your rightful rule was his initial saving grace, but it was a pleasant surprise that he grew on you so steadily. As the years wear on, you find that you’re quite grateful for his enduring loyalty and constant presence at your side. You think perhaps you should reward him somehow, but aren’t sure what he would like. He seems happy just to work by your side, which is, of course, something you’re more than capable of giving him. </span><span></span><br/>
<span><br/>
</span><span>Then again, Tropico is starting to get a little crowded, and your military has grown considerably in the past few years. Maybe Penultimo would like to help take over the little island to the south. After all, if there was anything better than helping you run a beautiful little island country, it could only be helping you run </span><em><span>two</span></em><span> beautiful little island countries, right? </span></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Next one's a ship fic, you can count on it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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